


The Art in Friendship

by storry_eyed



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 17:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4313913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storry_eyed/pseuds/storry_eyed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dax watched them go with her smile lingering. They’re going to be good for each other, she thought.</p>
<p>Kira Nerys and Tora Ziyal make for unlikely friends - at least from the outsider's point of view.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art in Friendship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rattyjol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rattyjol/gifts).



> Written for the Star Trek Friendshipfest 2015. Hope you enjoy.

Jadzia Dax was there when the Bird of Prey docked to Deep Space Nine and the two of them stepped off of it and onto the station, Tora Ziyal a half step behind Kira Nerys. Even though she had been told ahead of time of the station’s newest resident, it was still a surprise to see another Cardassian on the station, especially with Kira walking along calmly beside her. Ziyal’s nervousness was etched across her face, while Kira’s was almost hidden behind a slightly creased brow. Jadzia took one look at the two of them and knew that it was up to her.

“Ziyal, welcome,” she said, a smile on her face and a hand outstretched in greeting. Ziyal took it carefully. “I hear you’re planning on making Deep Space Nine your home for awhile.”

“Yes,” Ziyal answered with a glance up at Major Kira. “I miss my father already but I’m looking forward to seeing this station that he called home for so long.”

Dax didn’t need to be looking at her to know that a pained expression had just crossed Kira’s face. “Well, Ziyal, I hope that with time, you’ll call this station home, too.”

Ziyal gave her a smile, and then Kira spoke. “Come on, Ziyal. If we hurry, we can probably make it to the Promenade to see your father’s ship leaving the station.”

“I’m headed back to Ops, but I’ll walk with you part of the way,” Dax offered, and Kira flashed her a grateful look.

As they walked, Jadzia pointed out this and that along the way, telling some stories that made both of the other women smile. Just before she had to split off for Ops, she pulled Kira aside.

“You going to be alright?” Jadzia asked.

Kira’s face was rueful. “I’ll be fine. It’s just going to take some getting used to. But I said something to Dukat, as we were about to leave – I told him I saw myself in Tora Ziyal. And I think I do.”

“I do, too,” said Dax, and Kira looked surprised. Dax smiled. “Go on, go watch that Bird of Prey leave.”

As Kira caught up to Ziyal and laid a gentle hand on her arm, directing the younger girl through the right doorway, Dax watched them go with her smile lingering. _They’re going to be good for each other._

OoOoO

A week later, Dax’s door chimed. She opened it to reveal Major Kira, who looked incredibly frustrated.

“Major, what can I do for you?”

Kira stepped in and the door slid closed behind her. “Well, I guess I’m here for a little advice. If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Of course,” Jadzia assured her, inviting her to sit down and turning to order tea for them both. “What’s on your mind?”

Kira took a few seconds to settle herself and accept the tea from Jadzia, and then took a breath. “It’s Ziyal.”

“Mmhm?” encouraged Jadzia, hiding a smile behind her mug. “What about her.”

“I think I may have made a mistake, offering to take her back to live on DS9 and look after her.”

“How so?”

Kira made a frustrated sound. “I don’t know, it’s just – there’s nothing that we can talk about. She doesn’t know anything about Bajor or the station, and she just seems nostalgic for Cardassia all the time. She loves Dukat and doesn’t understand that he’s a murderer. She had no idea what Bajorans went through when the Cardassians were here.” She sighed deeply. “I have no idea how to connect with her.”

“Do you want to connect with her?”

Kira considered that, and then answered, “Yes. I still feel a sort of bond with her, although I don’t know why. But the two of us just seems… right, somehow.”

Jadzia considered that. “Well, that’s certainly the first step. My advice would be to try to find areas where you can bond. Does she have any hobbies?”

There was laughter in Kira’s voice. “Art. She likes to paint.”

Jadzia laughed softly as well. “Well, you could try to paint with her-” Kira shook her head  “-but maybe she could teach you about why she likes it so much. Maybe it’s something about the colors, or the way she can make a piece of paper come alive with nothing but a few pencil marks.”

“Maybe she could,” Kira said thoughtfully.

Dax had another thought, and after there was a short silence, she decided to go for it. “If she doesn’t know much about Bajor, maybe you could try teaching her about its history and religion. You both have things you could learn from each other.”

Kira was quiet for a long while, and Jadzia was just starting to think she’d made a mistake, but then Kira smiled. “You know, I think I’d like that. She is half-Bajoran, after all. And she knows so much about Cardassia – maybe she’d like to learn a little about her other side as well.”

Kira stood, and so Dax did as well. “Thank you, Jadzia,” Kira said, and there was real gratitude in her voice.

“Of course,” Jadzia answered, and gave Nerys’s shoulders a quick squeeze. “What are friends for?”

Kira beamed up at her – even after they’d been friends for several years, Nerys glowed whenever Jadzia referred to her as such, like friends were gifts to be treasured, which, Jadzia supposed, they were - and hurried out the door with a wave, Jadzia turning to finish her tea with satisfaction.

OoOoO

Dax knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, and most of the time she stopped herself, but this was one of those times when there was no chance of that. Namely, she heard Kira calling Ziyal’s name and stopped short, where she was still out of sight, to listen. As far as she knew, Kira had been considering her advice, but hadn’t taken any of it yet.

“Ziyal!”

There was a pause, and then an answering, “Hi, Nerys. How are you?”

Jadzia could hear both the smile and the nerves in Kira’s voice as she answered. “I’m fine. Really good, actually. How are you adjusting to Deep Space Nine?”

“I’m… adjusting,” said Ziyal, and laughed a bit. “It’s so different from anything I’ve ever known. And it’s been hard to make friends, or meet people my own age.”

“I understand. I had a hard time making friends when I first arrived here too.” Jadzia snorted. _A hard time_ was an understatement. “I’ll have to try and introduce you to Jake Sisko. I think the two of you might really get along.” She paused. “But actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Of course.” 

“Well, I know that you really like art. I was wondering if you would like to show me some of your paintings or drawings. I mean, only if you’d like to.”

“I’d love to!” Ziyal sounded thrilled. “Are you interested in art, too?” 

“Well, no… not exactly,” Nerys hedged. “At least, I’m not very good at making it.”

“Oh Nerys. You don’t make art. You _create_ art!”

“Um… I guess. If that’s the term. I’m not so good at either one. But I do know a lot about Bajoran art. I’d love to teach you about it, if you’re willing.”

“Okay.” Ziyal sounded hesitant but intrigued at the same time. “Maybe it would help me fit in better?”

“I don’t think it would hurt,” said Kira honestly. “And it might be fun.”

“Let’s try it.”

Jadzia slipped away, leaving them to make the rest of their plans in peace. She hoped she got to hear about how the meeting went, in one way or another.

OoOoO

A few months later, Dax got her wish. She and Kira were both finishing up their respective shifts in Ops and were going to have tea together in one of their quarters. Jadzia had her station almost ready for the science officer on the next shift to take over when an excited voice rang out: “Nerys, Nerys!”

Jadzia looked up to see a thrilled Tora Ziyal hurrying across Ops to Kira’s station. The other woman looked up with a bemused expression but a definite smile. “Ziyal, what is it?”

“Look!” The girl came to a stop in from of Kira and handed her a small canvas. Kira studied it for a few seconds, and her bemusement morphed into pure delight.

“Ziyal, this is amazing. I can’t believe you’ve only been learning about Bajoran art for less than three months. This looks like the real thing!”

“I’m so glad you like it,” Ziyal answered, her expression matching Kira’s. “It doesn’t look completely like the work of Modan Elga’s, though.”

“Well, I think it looks wonderful,” said Kira firmly, and Ziyal’s smile stretched even wider.

“See,” she said, pointing to the painting. “This is where I drew on Modan’s work. And this is where I tried to incorporate some aspects of Cardassian architecture. I think they work well together, they complement each other, and I wanted to try to use them both. Draw on both points of my heritage.”

The entire Ops crew, including Jadzia, were now staring at Kira, waiting for her inevitable cutting reaction. And she did take a deep breath, and steady her hands, but her words were not angry, and neither was her demeanor. In that moment, she was simply a woman learning to live in a world that was full of shades of grey, most visible in the girl who stood before her, both Cardassian and Bajoran features on her face, this young woman who she had brought to Deep Space Nine with the hope of giving her somewhere that she could be nurtured and accepted and grow. Maybe Kira hadn’t known how much of a role she herself would play in Ziyal’s development. But neither could she have known what a big role Ziyal would play in hers. And she could feel nothing but pride and job for this young woman who was some strange mix of friend and daughter, learning from her but teaching her as well, growing and healing together.

“I like the balance between the two,” said Nerys. “It reminds me of you.” Ziyal hugged her for a brief few seconds before apparently remembering that they were in Ops, and letting go of Kira and straightening up with some embarrassment.

Her work finished, Dax walked over to Kira’s console, smile still on her face. “I think I should let the two of you discuss Ziyal’s painting and we can reschedule our tea for next week.”

“Actually, Jadzia,” Kira began, and Ziyal started shaking her head, “Ziyal has been wondering if you’d be willing to share a little about Trill art. I told her what I know, but that was next to nothing - you’re the expert, not me.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m much of an expert, but I’m certainly happy to tell you everything I know about it,” Jadzia said to Ziyal. With a half glance at Kira, she added, “Would you like to join us for tea?”

“Oh, if you don’t mind, I’d love to,” Ziyal replied. “I want to hear everything you have to say about Trill art. Eventually I’m going to make a piece of artwork combining things from every culture on board this station.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Kira said, amused. 

They headed out of Ops together, the three of them while those present murmured and smiled and lifted their faces, and as they went, Jadzia mused to herself: _I thought they’d be good for each other, but I never considered how much hope they would bring to the rest of us._


End file.
